Haas boss Steiner denied “bullying” Mick Schumacher after Netflix revelations

‘Drive To Survive’ dedicated an episode to Schumacher, who lost his seat at Haas at the end of 2022, and showed several examples of team principal Steiner criticising his ability and the frequency of his crashes.

Steiner was filmed by Netflix saying “he f****** destroys the car just because the other one is faster” and “you cannot buy it or develop [talent]”.

"Nothing was out of the ordinary,” Steiner now tells RTL at the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.

"We don't need to do bullying, because after all, he was our driver. If we want to decide something, we don't have to do it. 

“I can also absolutely understand Mick's fans. In the heat of the moment, you sometimes say something you might say differently an hour later, but it wasn't bullying at all."

• How Hulkenberg “broke the ice” with Magnussen after “suck my b****” beef

Steiner now says about seeing Schumacher again: "When I saw him last weekend, I greeted him. We didn't talk to each other. The good thing is that our routes in the paddock to the toilets are not such that you constantly cross paths due to the distance!”

Nico Hulkenberg was recruited as Schumacher’s replacement alongside Kevin Magnussen.

The new partnership has had a rocky relationship - in 2017 Magnussen told Hulkenberg to “suck my b****” after a clash in Hungary.

Hulkenberg has now said: “I sort of thought ‘it’s time to break the ice’ and reached out with a hand and with a smile and put his words into his face.”